Timeline of the Modern Olympic Games

776 BC First recorded Olympic Games held at Olympia in Greece.

330/329 BC Lykourgos (an Athenian politician) transformed a natural hollow between two hills (Agra and Ardettos) into the Panathenian stadium for the athletic competitions that were part of the greater Panathenian festivities.

393 AD Roman Emperor Theodosius I banned all pagan rituals and events including the Olympic Games.

1821 Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire begins.

1822 Athens was liberated and 12 years later became the capital of Greece.

1833 Panagiotis Soutsos wrote about the revival of the Olympic Games in his poetry 'Dialogue of the Dead'.

1835 Panagiotis Soutsos wrote a memo to John Kolletis, the Greek Minister of the Interior, proposing that March 25th be made a national holiday celebrating the start of the Greek War of Independence and that the celebration should include a revival of the Olympic Games. Kolletis approved and recommended these proposals to King Otto. (Note that the Athens 1896 Olympic Games opened on March 25th.)

1850 Dr William Penny Brookes founded an annual games that was part of an Olympian Class, for the physical education of local citizens, in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, United Kingdom. The Games was not called Wenlock Olympian Games before 1859.

1856 Evangelis Zappas wrote to King Otto of Greece offering to fund the revival of the Olympic Games. Zappas offered 400 shares of the Greek Steamship Company (aka Hellenic Steam Navigation Company) and wrote that their dividends could be used to fund Olympic Games every four years and for prizes to be awarded to the winning athletes.

1859 Dr William Penny Brookes named annual games Wenlock Olympian Games. Brookes was clearly inspired by the coming Athens Olympic Games since he incorporated some of the events from the Greek programme into future programmes of the Wenlock Olympian Games.
1859 First modern international Olympic Games held in an Athens (Greece) city square, sponsored by Evangelis Zappas. These Olympic Games welcomed participants from the Ottoman Empire as well as Greece making the Games international from 1859. Dr William Penny Brookes donated prize money for one of the events that was won by Petros Velissariou (from Smyrna, Asia Minor, and citizen of the Ottoman Empire). Medals were awarded with the portrait of King Otto.

1860 Dr William Penny Brookes founded the Wenlock Olympian Society. Petros Velissariou was the first person to be listed on the honorary roll of the Wenlock Olympian Society.

1863 Birth of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, in Paris (France), on January 1st (note: born after revival initiated by Soutsos, Brookes and Zappas).

1866 National Olympic Games held in London (United Kingdom) and first modern Olympic Games to be held outside of Greece that actually looked like an Olympic Games. Dr William Penny Brookes was the President of the Olympic organizing committee. Athletics events took place inside the original Crystal Palace (no stadium yet and no Greek competitors, but the Crystal Palace was used as an indoor sports arena, and although not purposely built for the Games, it was the first indoor arena used for an Olympic Games). The programme of events started to look very much like the events in a modern Olympic Games. W.G. Grace, at the age of only 18, won the 440 yards hurdles at these Games, before he became a famous cricketer.

1870 First modern international Olympic Games to be held in a stadium, at the Panathenian stadium in Athens, Greece (second 'Zappas Games'). Evangelis Zappas paid for the refurbishment of the ancient Panathenian stadium. K. Kardamylakis (from the island of Crete and citizen of the Ottoman Empire) came first in two events: wrestling and the pole-vault. G. Akestorides (from Constantinople and citizen of the Ottoman Empire) came first in the rope-climbing event.

1875 Elite international Olympic Games held in the Panathenian stadium (third 'Zappas Games'). Elite, in this context, means that only wealthy, upper-class men could compete. Z. Saropoulos of Macedonia (a citizen of the Ottoman Empire) came first in discus and K. Molskidis from Smyrna (another citizen of the Ottoman Empire) came first in the rope-climbing event. Mark Joseph Mindler, a Bavarian-Hellene born in Athens (his parents were Bavarian), participated in these Games and went on to establish the first Hellenic scout group, became the President of the Panhellenic Gymnastics Association, and the Hellenic Philotelic Society.

1889 Elite and private 'Olympic Games' (not organized by the Zappas Olympic Committee) held in a gym managed by Ioannis Phokianos. This event was too small to be witnessed by the general public (failed attempt to open to the public resulted in overcrowding of the gym and chaos). However, Phokianos had been appointed as a coach and organizer of events for the earlier Games held in the Panathenian stadium.

1890 Baron Pierre de Coubertin visited Much Wenlock and was inspired by Dr William Penny Brookes. The Baron published, in his new journal on Christmas Day, his experiences in Much Wenlock with the title "The Olympic Games at Much Wenlock - A page in the history of athletics" (translated from French) and mentioned the part that Dr Brookes had played in reviving the ancient Olympics. But does not say when the ancient Olympics were revived nor makes any reference or comparison with the Olympic Games held in Athens (and it appears that he might have only known about the first Zappas Games and did not appreciate its significance).

1892 Both Dr William Penny Brookes and Baron Pierre de Coubertin publicly proposed the revival of the Olympic Games for the first time. Dr Brookes' proposal came first and was focussed on witnessing a future "international" Games in Greece and the Baron proposed "the re-establishment of the Olympic Games". The Baron did not give any credit for his proposal to Dr Brookes. Brookes mentions the 1859 Games but fails to note that Velissariou, the first man on the honor roll of the Wenlock Olympian Society, was born in the Ottoman Empire and was the first international Olympian victor. Coubertin does not mention the 1859 Games. Neither mention the 1870 or 1875 Games.

1894 Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 23rd June 1894. Dimitris Vikelas (also spelt Demetrius Vikelas, and Demetris Bikelas) was made the first President of the IOC.

1894 Baron Pierre de Coubertin mentions Zappas in a speech at the Literary Society of Parnassos, in Greece on 16th November 1894.

1896 Fourth modern international Olympic Games and the first IOC Olympic Games held at the Panathenian stadium, in Athens. The Panathenian stadium was once again refurbished from the legacy of Evangelis Zappas and new monies from George Averoff. Athletes from 14 countries participated (according to the official Olympic.org website) and seven times more countries than in 1859 (note that athletes from two nations are enough to make an event international).

1896 First modern Olympic building (called the 'Zappeion') built specifically for the Olympic Games, from the legacy of Evangelis Zappas, was used for the Olympic fencing events. This building received formal planning permission to be built on 30th November 1869 (almost 25 years before the founding of the IOC).

1900 First side-show 'Olympics' held in Paris (France), at the Univeral Exposition, without a stadium and under the auspices of the organising committee of the Exposition and not the IOC.

1901 At the 4th IOC Session in Paris a decision was made for the IOC's 2nd International Olympic Games to be held in Athens in 1906. Confirming that an IOC Olympic Games had not taken place in an official capacity in Paris in 1900 after the event. Later efforts to label the Athens 1906 Games as 'Interim Games' and to legitimize the side-show events in Paris were an afterthought.

1904 Second side-show 'Olympics' held in St Louis (United States) at the World's Fair.

1906 2nd IOC Olympic Games held in Athens (Greece) at the Panathenian stadium. Called 'Interim Games', well after the event, because it was held only two years after the 1904 St Louis Games and because the ancient Hellenes held Olympic Games once every four years (this four year period is called an 'Olympiad'). The Zappeion was used to accommodate the Hungarian Olympic team.

1908 Third side-show 'Olympics' held in London (United Kingdom) at the Franco-British Exhibition.

2004 The Panathenian stadium was reused for events at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games including archery and the finish of the Marathon. The Zappeion, the first indoor Olympic arena, was utilised as the Olympic Press Centre.